Construction toys with dimple-containing magnet

ABSTRACT

A containing a dimple the face the magnet and construction toys utilizing dimple-containing magnets and ferromagnetic spheres or dimple-containing ferromagnetic structures and magnetic spheres and other components.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/512,952 filed Oct. 21, 2003 entitled “Dimple ContainingMagnet” which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to magnets and, in particular, to toys and toyconstruction sets utilizing magnets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Magnets exhibit such interesting properties and permit such easy“construction” of structures containing them that they have long beenused as toys and have long been incorporated in toys. The relativelyrecent availability of inexpensive, extremely strong rare earth magnetshas enabled design of improved toy magnets and toys containing magnets.Among such toys are building components including steel spheres orspherical magnets and “spars,” elongated structures containing magnetsin their ends for magnetic attachment to other such spars or otherstructures such as spheres.

Contact between a sphere and a conventional flat magnet surface is apoint contact that provides essentially no lateral stability. As aresult, construction toy spars that have flat-end magnets exhibit nolateral stability when magnetically connected to a spherical surface,therefore often requiring additional spars for lateral support. FIG. 1is a side view of an end of a spar 8 holding a flat-end magnet 10contacting a sphere 12 in such a prior art structure that achievesone-point contact. FIG. 2 illustrates another prior art structure inwhich a spar 8 holds a flat-end magnet 14 penetrated by a small hole 16so that contact with a sphere 12 will be between the spherical surfaceand the rim 18 of the spar magnet 14 hole 16.

However, since a magnet's performance (other factors being equal) is afunction of its geometry and volume, such magnets penetrated by a holesacrifice function. A through hole in the face of a magnet results in anair path through the magnet, which reduces its magnetic power, and ahole removes magnet material, which also reduces magnetic power. Theseconsiderations cause it to be desirable to use a smaller hole, but thesmaller the hole (and therefore the smaller the diameter of the rim thatcontacts a steel sphere) results in reduced lateral stability andreduced strength. In addition, a small through hole traps contaminantssuch as oils and grease during the manufacturing process that aredifficult to remove by conventional means. Furthermore, if not removed,these contaminants migrate out of the hole in the magnet during theapplication of a protective coating (such as nickel plating) resultingin poor adhesion of the protective coating, which then flakes off.Without a protective coating a rare earth magnet will corrode or rust,which reduces the magnet's performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A dimple in the face of a magnet, such as a magnet affixed to a sparend, provides a strong, laterally stable magnetic connection with asphere, particularly if the rim or intersection between the surface ofthe recess and the face of the magnet is a circle. Such a dimple orrecess, as compared to a hole through an otherwise comparable magnet,provides greater magnetic strength by eliminating the air path throughthe magnet and by avoiding significant loss of magnetic material to thehole and is easily cleaned of contaminants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art flat end magnet contacting asphere.

FIG. 2 is a side view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a flat end magnetwith a through hole contacting a sphere.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a dimple-containing magnet of this inventionpositioned near a sphere.

FIG. 4, is another view of the dimple-containing magnet of thisinvention shown in FIG. 3 positioned near a larger diameter sphere.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a construction toy spar containing twodimple-containing magnets of this invention and a sphere of the sameradius as the dimple.

FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of the dimple-containing magnet ofthis invention having a dimple that is not defined by a sphericalsurface.

FIG. 7 is a Y-connector construction toy component of this invention.

FIG. 8 is an X-connector construction toy component of this invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative assembly of construction toy components ofthis invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate alternative embodiments of the dimple-containingmagnet of this invention, shown mounted in another object, which may bea toy component such as a construction toy spar or any other componentdesired.

FIG. 3 illustrates a dimple 20 in a magnet 22 in a toy component 24positioned near a sphere having a radius comparable to the radius of thedimple. FIG. 4 shows a like spar 24 and magnet 22 but having a dimple 26with a smaller radius “r” than the radius “R” of a sphere 28.

FIG. 5 illustrates that by forming a dimple 34 as a concave surface 35with a radius “r” exactly matching the radius “r” of the surface 36 of asteel sphere 38 with which the dimple-containing magnet is used, contactwill be achieved across the entire dimple 34, providing substantiallateral support and maximizing the magnetic connection. If, on the otherhand, a dimple is defined by a semi-spherical surface having a slightlyshorter radius than the radius of the steel sphere, then contact willoccur between the two at the rim of the magnet dimple, therebymaximizing lateral stability. Such a dimple having a slightly shorterradius semi-spherical surface ensures highly stable contact with spheresof approximately the same size while not requiring exact identity ofsphere size from one sphere to another. Ring contact also ensures minordefects (protrusions) on the sphere do not significantly affectperformance as would be the case for exactly matching magnet dimple andsphere radii, which could result in point contact verses ring contact.FIG. 5 further illustrates this invention in a magnet 22 having a dimple34 that fully occupies the end 23 of the magnet 22, thereby providingthe largest dimple area possible for this magnet.

In FIG. 5, the radius r of the dimple is equal to the radius r of thesphere 36, theoretically enabling contact between the entire dimplesurface 35 and the surface 38 of the sphere 36.

A somewhat exaggerated-for-clarity example of a smaller radius dimple 26and larger sphere 28 is illustrated in FIG. 4, where the magnet 22dimple 26 has a shorter radius r than the longer radius R of the sphere28. As may be seen in FIG. 4, a portion of the surface 30 of the sphere28 is received within the dimple 26, but there is contact between thesphere surface 30 and the magnet only at the rim 32 of the dimple 26.

Incorporation of such dimples in the ends of magnets removes relativelylittle magnetic material and avoids the pole-to-pole air path introducedby a through hole as illustrated in FIG. 2.

As will be readily appreciated by study of the figures and considerationof the information set forth above, dimples usable to obtain thebenefits of this invention can have shapes other than the semi-sphericalshapes illustrated in the accompanying figures and described above,although the semi-spherical shape will typically be optimal. Forinstance, the dimple could have a shape of the inside of a cone or atruncated cone like the truncated conical shape 50 of the dimple 52illustrated in FIG. 6. Numerous other shapes would likewise be possible,provided that there are at least three reasonably separated points ofcontact between the sphere and the magnet. For instance, a dimple havinga shell-like series of scallops would provide a series of peripheralcontacts establishing a stable magnet to sphere connection. As shouldlikewise be appreciated, while most of the discussion above assumes thatthe spar end will be a magnet and the sphere simple steel, thecomponents could be reversed by using a spherical magnet and a ferrousmetal spar or spar end.

As will also be apparent to those skilled in the art of magnetmanufacture, the dimples of this invention can be formed in magnets orferrous metal structures by a variety of methods including conventionalmachining and metal-forming methods.

Spars or other parts containing magnets with dimples can contain onedimple-containing magnet 22, as illustrated in FIG. 3, two magnets 22,as illustrated in FIG. 5, three magnets 22 as illustrated in FIG. 7showing a Y-connector 60, four magnets 22 as illustrated in FIG. 8showing an X-connector 70. Other numbers of dimple-containing magnetsare also possible.

Components containing dimple-containing magnets in accordance with thisinvention can be assembled in an endless variety of ways with numerousother ferromagnetic or ferromagnetic-containing components. Forinstance, such components can be assembled as shown in FIG. 9 with spars24 resting on disks 29 and supporting spheres 28 that in turn hold spars25 that contact spheres 28 at one of their ends and a ring 31 at theother of their ends.

These and other variations of this invention are all within the spiritand scope of this invention, the foregoing description and accompanyingdrawings, and the following claims.

1. A construction toy component comprising a magnet having a dimple. 2.The construction toy component of claim 1, further comprising a plasticpart connected to the magnet.
 3. The construction toy component of claim2, wherein the plastic part comprises a spar.
 4. The construction toycomponent of claim 2, further comprising a second magnet having a dimpleand connected to the component.
 5. The construction toy component ofclaim 3, further comprising at least another magnet having a dimple andconnected to the spar.
 6. A construction toy kit comprising aferromagnetic sphere and a magnet having a dimple encircled by a dimplerim for contact between the sphere and the magnet at least along thedimple rim.
 7. The construction toy kit of claim 6, wherein the spherehas a first radius and the dimple surface that is not spherical.
 8. Theconstruction toy kit of claim 7, wherein the dimple surface is atruncated cone.
 9. The construction toy kit of claim 8, furthercomprising a plastic part attached to the magnet.
 10. The constructiontoy kit of claim 9, wherein the plastic part comprises a spar.
 11. A toycomprising: (a) a plastic part connected to a ferromagnetic partcontaining a dimple and (b) a ferromagnetic sphere, wherein one of thesphere or the dimple-containing part are magnetized.
 12. A constructiontoy part comprising a spar having two ends and, positioned in each end,one magnet having at least one dimple.
 13. A construction toycomprising: (a) a plurality of plastic spars, each containing at leastone dimple-containing magnet, and (b) a plurality of spherespositionable in the dimples.
 14. A kit comprising: (a) a plurality ofplastic parts, each containing at least two dimple-containing magnet,(b) a plurality of spheres positionable in contact with the magnets atthe dimples, (c) a plurality of ferromagnetic rings, (d) at least oneferromagnetic base.
 15. The kit of claim 14 wherein the at least oneferromagnetic base comprises a plurality of disks.
 16. The kit of claim15, wherein the at least one ferromagnetic base is a disk and at leastone of the plastic parts contains at least three dimple-containingmagnets.